Reacting to him missing out on a chance to become the world chess champion for second consecutive time, having recorded a loss in World Chess Championship 2023, Russian Grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi said, "A tie-break's always...a lottery." "Probably my opponent made less mistakes," he added after the loss against China's 30-year-old Grandmaster Ding Liren. The winner was decided via tiebreaks.